State wildlife biologists want the public’s help in tracking population and geographic trends of the endangered Florida panther.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission established an online panther reporting website in September and so far nearly 400 sightings have been submitted by south Florida residents. “Unfortunately, the vast majority of those folks haven’t been fortunate enough to have pictures taken at the time of their sighting which is what is most helpful to us,” said FWC panther team leader Darrell Land. “It is still encouraging that so many people are taking advantage of the site.”
The cats’ breeding population has been restricted to south of the Caloosahatchee River for more than 30 years, but the cats’ increasing population is crowding out male cats that’ve begun to seek out new territory north of the river. That’s where biologists are most interested in reported sightings. “We have continued to see young male panthers leaving South Florida, going across the Caloosahatchee River and looking for new territories and that is another expected consequence of a rise in panther numbers,” said Land. “We do expect to see a panther range expansion. So far, it’s only been the males.”
The panther population has rebounded from about 30 cats in the 1980s to an estimated 100 to 160 today. To report a documented panther sighting visit www.myfwc.com.
